Everybody's Got Their Daemons
by GakuenAlicefan27
Summary: A daemon!AU story of D. Gray-Man based on the daemon concept of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, though you don't need to have read the books to understand. Let's take a look at our favorite characters and their daemons!
1. Merissa

A/N: Hey, there! It's been a while since I've published anything on this site, so I'm really excited about this story!

I did this based on the daemon concept of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, but there are a lot of different things as well. I thought that the D. Gray-Man universe would be an awesome place to apply this concept on, and I had a lot of fun writing this story.

This is a multi-chaptered fic, I already have six chapters written!

Please, let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is well-accepted, but flames will be used to roast marshmallows. ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man, otherwise a lot of things would be different.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Everybody's Got Their Daemons**

_by: GakuenAlicefan27_

**Chapter 1: Merissa**

What Allen likes the most about Merissa is her size:

She isn't small enough to be defenseless in a fight, but she isn't big enough to be troublesome in case they have to hide. He likes to hold her in his free time, though she isn't exactly light; and to lie sprawled on the bed with her upper body resting on his chest, so they can keep chatting for hours on end.

She, unlike the majority of the daemons, settled when he was very young - that gruesome day when he met the Earl five years ago didn't change him just physically; it also impacted his soul.

The sadness of having lost Mana, the hope of having him back, the terror of seeing him as an Akuma, the shock of his Innocence activating, all the things that happened that day contributed to shape his soul, and, some hours after it was over, he realized that Merissa still hadn't changed from the form she had assumed to protect him during the fight, while she normally changed forms every hour or so.

He remembers the awe he felt while looking at her after she confirmed that, indeed, that was it; she had settled.

His Meri was a strong yet slender feline, with long legs, a small head, and tall oval ears. Her fur was boldly spotted with black on tawny, and though Allen couldn't tell what type of cat she was, he thought that Merissa was so beautiful that it was hard to believe that she was his soul. However, contradicting his thoughts, the more Allen observed her, the more he felt that this was completely right, and this was exactly how Meri should look.

How many times had he wondered what Meri would settle as? A thousand animals must have crossed his mind, but none of them had made him feel like this. Now, he wondered how he could ever have thought about those other forms. This was how Meri was meant to be; no other animal would suit her.

Even now it was still quite shocking to him that Merissa had settled as a big feline. She almost never changed to felines when he was young, preferring discreet animals that would not call attention towards her: rats, small birds, different types of insects, sometimes a tiny cat, but rarely ever something that couldn't go in Allen's pockets. She liked to go unnoticed, perhaps because she was Allen's soul and Allen already attracted too much attention with his red arm alone; it was her way of making things a little better.

Later on, Cross adopted him and told him that Meri was a serval; an African wild cat. It made sense that Allen had never seen this type of cat, since he had never been to Africa. He had never seen any other serval daemon as well, so it only added to his amazement.

Meri got really embarrassed with how much Allen was staring at her and calling her perfect, which was every ten minutes. They could feel Cross looking at them from time to time; the expression on his face gave away that he was surprised and perhaps even worried that a ten year old boy already had a settled daemon. It wasn't normal, but Allen reasoned that he was never normal to begin with, so it didn't bother him.

There isn't a pattern of daemons in the Black Order; there are some that contrast so greatly that people get shocked to learn that they belong to members who work on the same section. Allen always loves to watch their interactions, no matter how small; daemons are fascinating and he'll never tire to observe them.

A small movement takes him out of his thoughts and he looks at Meri, whose head has been resting on his belly. He smiles, raising a hand to caress her soft fur.

"What is it?" He asks as she tilts her head towards his hand, liking the feeling of being petted.

"Your stomach is growling." She says, and Allen suddenly realizes that she's right, he's starving. "Are you going to the dinner hall?" The boy thought about it. He had just returned from a long mission and was tired as hell. In the moment, he only wanted to relax even if just for a few minutes.

"I'll go in a bit, but I'm too tired to get up now." He can see that Meri gets worried when he says that; Allen Walker passing up the opportunity to get some food isn't something that you see every day. Her ears perk up and she raises her head.

"I can go get you something, if you're that tired. I'm sure that Jeryy would put some food in a plastic bag if I asked."

The offer is tempting, but Merissa wouldn't be able to carry everything that he needs to eat to satisfy his stomach and his parasite type Innocence in just one trip, and Allen knows that she's tired as well. Besides…

"You can't just show up at the dinner hall without me, Meri. People would freak out." He reminds her, then watches her ears drop.

"Right…sorry, I forgot."

"I know. Sometimes I forget it as well."

In reality, a person and their daemon are somewhat physically dependent as well. Normally, the longest distance the two can stay away from each other is of about ten meters; some even less than that, depends on the person. When that distance is surpassed, side effects occur: both the person and daemon start feeling immediately ill the more the distance grows, and the only cure is for them to be near again. In case that doesn't happen, they die in a matter of minutes.

Allen and Merissa were never like that.

Even before Meri had settled, even before Allen had met Mana, ever since he could remember, Meri and he had never felt the need to be physically close to each other. They were connected to each other, as much as any other person was connected to their own daemon, but Allen wouldn't even stir when Meri decided to take a look around the place they were staying at and disappear for a few hours. He knew she was fine (he would feel if she wasn't), and he knew she was a curious daemon, so why not? That was another reason as to why people called him a freak, besides his arm.

Mana never had any problem with that. Cross was deeply surprised when he found out, but never held it against him. True, he advised Allen not to let other people know about it, but for his own good, and that was something that Allen could understand. His daemon had already settled way too early, and adding this to the fact that Meri could come and go as she pleased…Only God knows how people would react.

It was still difficult, though. Meri valued freedom, and so did Allen, so it was very easy to forget that they weren't supposed to stay very apart from each other whenever they were in the heat of battle, or even when they were just with their minds occupied with other things. They had managed, so far, but there had been too many close calls in the past.

It was better if people didn't know. Perhaps he was being too pessimistic; maybe his friends would understand, but he was better safe than sorry, and they were safer this way as well. He couldn't explain why, but he had a strong feeling that letting the truth out would be too dangerous.

Allen doesn't like putting the people he loves in danger, and he does it far too frequently for his liking. Ever since he was a kid the people who stayed away from him were the ones who ended up better. It was so bad that there was a time in which he thought that Merissa would settle as a raven, a symbol of ill omen. Well, looks like you don't need to have a raven daemon to be ill omened after all.

Yeah, having people find out isn't an option.

Meri moves again, this time getting up from the bed. Her expression is gloomy, and he just knows that her thoughts are trailing the same path as his. He shakes his head, trying to will the depressing thoughts away; then he gets up as well, smiles at Meri, who smiles back, and they go to the dining hall. There's no use thinking about it now.

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A/N: That was it! The first chapter!

Next one is: Lenalee and her daemon!


	2. Ryel

A/N: Yo! So, this chapter is about Lenalee. Writing Lenalee doesn't come easily to me, and the chapter ended up being rather small, but the next ones will be bigger!

I would like to say "Thank you!" to the people who put the story on their alerts list and favorited it, and the person who posted a guest review as well!

IMPORTANT: The author Silver-Snow-77 sent me a PM yesterday saying that she was writing a daemon!AU in the D. Gray-Man universe as well, and asking if I had any problem with that since I was the one who posted first and there was the possiblity that her fanfic could have similarities with mine. I don't have any problem with that, so, if any of you read her fanfic and find some similar things, she isn't copying me, it's just a coincidence; these things happen.

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man, otherwise a lot of things would be different.

Enjoy!

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**Everybody's Got Their Daemons**

_by: GakuenAlicefan27_

**Chapter 2: Ryel**

What Lenalee likes the most about Ryel is the fact that he's always there:

She doesn't remember much of her life before the Order, having being taken away from home when she was still six, but in the very few flashbacks she manages to have, Ryel is always by her side, taking care of her.

During her early years at the Order, the worst years of her life, she could always count on Ry to help her and defend her whenever she tried to escape, and when she finally broke down, he always tried to make her feel better, to help her with her loneness, even though he wasn't doing fine either.

He would tell her stories he remembered hearing her parents tell her before, and the warmth that filled her as she heard them made the pain a little more bearable. He also changed forms a lot, more than the other kids' daemons, she thought. It was a way to entertain her while she lied tied to a bed: he often chose to turn into birds of different colors; there wasn't much color to be seen where she was.

Over the years, Ry had become the only one she felt close to, the only one she talked to, because he loved her, and she loved him, and that's how it should be, since they are a package.

Because of that, they had grown very attached, to the point that even after Komui arrived and things got better, even after he managed to make her think of the Order as a home, they would never separate more than four or five meters. She didn't feel comfortable if Ryel went any farther, and he didn't like it either. They liked to be extremely close, preferably touching: Ryel perched on her shoulder, or her hand on his head, no matter what form he took. It gave both of them a sense of safety, of support.

She knew that people could normally stay from nine to ten meters away from their daemons without feeling ill, but they just couldn't do it. Four meters were their limit, and they were okay with that.

She remembers the day Ry settled. She was fourteen, a normal age for a daemon to settle – they normally did so between fourteen and seventeen. It was after she had already gone in a few missions, a little after Lavi and Bookman arrived, and after she had gotten the guts to socialize with new people besides her brother. She was glad she did, having other people to talk to made her happy, made her feel alive and, eventually, she became the smiling sweet girl that everyone now knew her for.

There was nothing especial that triggered it; she and Ryel were at the library, looking for some documents that her brother had asked her to get. Then Ry, who had been a little hummingbird looking the upper shelves, just flew down to the ground and turned into a medium-sized mammal with beautiful antlers on his head: a deer.

Lenalee almost asked him why he changed, but before she opened her mouth she had a weird pleasant feeling overcome her, and then she just knew that Ryel wasn't changing anymore. He confirmed it, and she wasted no time in showing how happy she was, even though she was surprised that he didn't settle as a bird, since they were the forms Ry preferred to be in.

The first one she told was her brother, of course; he would be devastated if he wasn't the first to know. He cried dramatically upon receiving the news, saying something like "My sweet Lenalee is growing up too fast!" - But the way he beamed at her after he was done crying showed her just how proud he was. She told the rest of her friends next, and they congratulated her.

She is happy now because she feels complete.

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A/N: Like I said, this chapter ended up being smaller than I intended, but that's okay.

Next one is: Kanda and his daemon!


	3. Ran

A/N: So, this chapter is Kanda's. I am particularly fond of this chapter, as I had a lot of fun writing it.

It contains some spoilers of Kanda's past, I warn you!

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man, otherwise a lot of things would be different.

Have fun! ^^

* * *

**Everybody's Got Their Daemons**

_by: GakuenAlicefan27_

**Chapter 3: Ran**

What Kanda likes the most about Ran is the fact that she understands him:

They have been through a lot, Kanda being a second exorcist born from a tube; he often felt that Ran was the only thing that was truly his in this life, and not an echo of a previous exorcist who lived years ago.

He had to fight and flee at a very young age, but if he did so, Ran would follow, fighting just as hard so both of them could get the freedom they wanted. There was Alma as well, but even Alma had to go at a point, and it all came down to both of them again. They trust each other, because if one of the goes down, the other will inevitably follow. Some may think that this is a selfish thought, but for them it is comforting, and it serves as a reason to keep on fighting; Kanda doesn't want Ran to die, so he has to give his best to stay alive, and vice versa. They've always thought like that, and so far it's working.

Ran doesn't talk much, just like him, and neither of them ever gets bothered by it. They aren't like that idiot moyashi and his equally idiot big cat who are always talking to each other about everything. They aren't like Lenalee and her deer either, who are always clinging to each other; they like to give the other some space, though neither can stay away from each other more than ten meters – it happened once, in the middle of a battle. They accidentally got separated by fourteen meters because the structure they were standing on gave away due to an Akuma blow. It hurt. It hurt like nothing had ever hurt before. They could see each other, but those four extra meters of distance were enough to keep both of them curling on the ground in pain. Luckily, they managed to get close again after a minute or two of struggling, and the pain subdued. A little more, maybe four or five minutes, and they'd be dead. After that, both made sure to never let it happen again.

In the battlefield, they work together as one. Ran knows exactly what kind of moves he's going to make just by reading his expression, so she positions herself in a way that her attack plus his will make a deadly combination. She's sarcastic as well, and sometimes a little hotheaded. Okay, very hotheaded. There were times that they even got into minor verbal fights, both of them being the hotheads that they were – which seems to be a source of amusement for that idiot usagi and his daemon: "Really, Yu? Who the hell manages to get into an argument with their own soul? Only Yu and Ran-Ran…"

The redhead would always regret saying that less than a second later, when his and Ran's anger would turn on him. His, for being called Yu; that brat didn't have permission to call him by his first name. Ran's, for being called Ran-Ran; sure the other daemons had nicknames, but "Ran" was a monosyllabic word that didn't need any shortening, so the bookman apprentice had taken on repeating it just for the sake of "being cute". Ran found it ridiculous, and Kanda agreed.

He couldn't say that he hadn't wondered what she'd settle as; everyone wonders what their daemon will settle as, but it wasn't a thought that he wasted a lot of time on. Sometimes he wondered, but he'd soon brush it aside because he'd find out the day she settled anyway, and his thoughts wouldn't change a thing.

He never freaked out because of the time she was taking to settle as well. Most people started to worry if their daemons hadn't settled by the time they were sixteen or seventeen. When Kanda reached sixteen (physically), and Ran still didn't show any signs of settling, he just thought that perhaps it would take a little longer since he was a tube child; he didn't worry in the slightest.

Turns out that she did settle when he was sixteen, four months away of being seventeen. It wasn't anything grand, it happened during training. Kanda had been using Mugen to slice some dummies while Ran was turned into a lioness and cutting the dummies' throats with her sharp teeth when, in the middle of an attack, she changed from a yellowish blur, blur because of her speed, to a bluish blur that caught his attention.

He immediately stopped what he was doing in favor or watching Ran's new form closely. She still had very sharp teeth that were tearing the dummy apart, but instead of being a lioness, she was a big canine with long legs and a bushy black fur. The fur's color, Kanda noticed, was a deep black, so much that it looked blue in the right light, almost like his blue hair. Ran's eyes were amber. She was a wolf.

He waited for her to finish the dummy before getting closer and touching the soft fur, asking with his eyes if it was permanent (he had a feeling it was). She nodded, smiling a rare smile. Kanda really liked her settled form. She looked strong and elegant, swift as ever. She had changed to wolves other times, but never this color, and never for long, she seemed to prefer bigger forms that could tackle someone to the ground if needed. He supposed she could still do it, even though she wasn't nearly as big as a tiger or a lioness.

He didn't bother telling anyone that she had settled, but they caught on after a day or two (Lavi caught on after some hours, being more observant than others). They seemed to have the same impression that he did: that form was strong, but also beautiful. Not that he minded the whole "beauty" aspect. There were other daemons that were more beautiful than her, like Merissa, how Kanda would find out when he met the moyashi.

What? They fought like there was no tomorrow, but there was no point in denying that Merissa was beautiful like very few daemons he had ever seen, not that he'd ever say that out loud, mind you. He wasn't blunt like the moyashi, who upon seeing Ran for the first time immediately said: "She's stunning!"

No, he didn't even care when he said that. He and Ran definitely didn't get embarrassed, like Lenalee insisted (Ran: Definitely not!). He was just surprised because the kid actually had the nerve to call her stunning while Mugen was being pointed at him.

Ran thought that the moyashi's daemon was very beautiful as well, even though she and Merissa were rolling on the floor at each other's throats more often than not – He refused to call her "Meri" like everyone else did. That would give the impression that they were close (Ran: Besides, Merissa is too pretty a name, it shouldn't be shortened just because some people are too lazy to say the whole thing. Kanda: Yeah…I suppose.).

Well, he wouldn't dwell on that. Perhaps there was still time to meditate a little before dinner…

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A/N: Next one will be: Lavi and his daemon!


	4. Leon

A/N: Lavi's chapter ended up becoming the longest chapter yet because I used it not only to introduce Lavi's daemon, but also to explain the reasoning behind my choice of settled forms for Merissa, Ryel, Ran, and Lavi's own daemon.

It was meant to be a quick class about animal symbolism, and I thought it would be adequate for Lavi to explain it since he's the one who probably has to know, as a bookman apprentice.

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man, otherwise it would be a lot different.

Reviews are lovely, and constructive criticism is well-accepted, but flames will be used to roast marshmallows. ^^

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or put the story on the alerts list so far!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Everybody's Got Their Daemons**

_by: GakuenAlicefan27_

**Chapter 4: Leon**

What Lavi likes the most about Leon is the fact that he still changes, even though he already settled.

He settled when Lavi was sixteen, a little after he and Bookman arrived at the Order. To tell you the truth, he never really wanted Leon to settle; he liked to see Leon change from one form to other every two minutes or so – Yeah, he was aware that Leon changed forms way more than the average daemon, but hey, what was wrong with that? He himself changed names every once in a while.

Leon is a chameleon, which is awesome because it means that he still changes colors! There are times, depending on the place he's hiding, that people have a really hard time seeing him, so it's great to gather information, even though they are restricted to being able to stay ten meters away from each other at the max.

"Leon" isn't his daemon's real name, by the way, but whenever Lavi changes his, Leon does the same. This time it wasn't even him who chose the new name; it just happened that he took so long to decide on a new one that people in the Order got tired of saying "Chameleon" all the time and opted on calling him "Leon" for short. Leon thought it was good, so he decided to stick with that one.

Currently, Lavi and Leon were hiding from the old panda and his bat daemon. The old man wants Lavi and Leon to spend the whole day locked in the library studying! Needless to say, Lavi doesn't like to study for hours on end, even though he knows it's necessary to become a Bookman in the future.

There are a few subjects that Lavi actually likes though, like Daemon Interpretation, for example! It consists on judging a person's personality based on what form their daemon settled as. It also consists on being able to read the expressions that a daemon makes in order to understand how their humans are truly feeling, but that's too complex and takes years to master, so Lavi is going to focus on explaining more about the first part rather than the second one.

Since there are too many forms a daemon can settle as, Lavi will use his teammates' daemons as examples in a quick lesson.

Now, who to begin with? Well, ladies first, so he supposes he'll start with Lenalee.

Lenalee and Ryel are so sweet! Ry had already settled as a deer when they first met, so Lavi couldn't play with trying to guess which animal he would settle as like he does with many other teenagers, but it doesn't matter.

According to many books on the matter, a deer often represents the action of caring for other people, along with gentleness, intelligence, watchfulness, and they also represent a mothering instinct. Lavi wasn't surprised in the slightest when he found out about that; these characteristics seem to match Lenalee pretty well.

There's Yu as well. Little Ran-Ran (Leon: We're gonna get killed for that someday… Lavi: I know!) settled as a wolf a few months after they had met; it didn't surprise Lavi that she had settled as a somewhat big animal, seeing that they seemed to be of her preference, though Lavi had imagined that she'd settle as some kind of big feline, perhaps a panther or a tigress, or even a bird of prey.

Of course, he did some research on the symbolism of wolves, and, boy, it took him an entire day doing so! People would be surprised at how many interpretations on wolves there are, especially because some vary greatly, depending on the culture of the people who wrote them.

When it comes to daemons, wolves are frequently associated with warriors, but there's so much more to take into account that it's difficult to find a consensus.

In some cultures, they are represented in a positive light, as a protector and a pathfinder, being animals that trust their instincts; in others, they represent destruction. The wolf also represents free will, toughness, and the ability to escape. According to the few things that Lavi managed to find out about Kanda's past, that last part seems to fit him rather well.

The warrior part is easily associated with him as well, but what confused Lavi the most was the fact that wolves are social animals, running in groups called packs, and being frequently associated with leadership.

Kanda likes to be alone, seeing as he isn't a people person. Eventually, Lavi did find out some notes mentioning the lone wolves, the ones who live and hunt alone, with no pack. There are some discussions about this behavior, but Lavi chose to believe that this was Kanda's case.

Ran-Ran is a little bit friendlier than Kanda, but just a little bit, which means basically nothing. Both of them highly dislike being physical with other people as well; Kanda draws out Mugen if Lavi even as much as touches his shoulder and Ran-Ran never lets Leon be on her back. The only one Ran-Ran is constantly having physical contact with is Meri, and by physical contact Lavi means trying to rip each other's throats off. Well, at least it's something. Lavi wonders if Allen and Kanda have realized that despite fighting so much their daemons always stand closer to each other than to the other exorcists' daemons while in missions…

Speaking of Merissa, do you know how old Allen was when she settled?

Ten.

Yeah, you heard it right. Allen was ten freaking years old when Meri settled! He remembers the day he found out, some months ago:

_Allen, Lavi, Lenalee, and Kanda had been called to Komui's office. They thought it was because of a mission, but it turned out that the crazy inventor had managed to lose some data he had because of the mess his paperwork always is in; thus, he needed to gather up the information again. _

_It was an excruciating three-hour-long period in which Komui asked questions such as their birthday date, latest synchronization rate, etc. All of them had picked up seats while Komui went on with the questions. Kanda looked like he was about to slice Komui any second, Lenalee looked as if she wanted to facepalm, Lavi was just tired, and Allen looked as if he'd rather be anywhere but there. _

"_Okay, so let me see…Kanda. General Tiedoll said that he met you when you were ten, is that right?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_And Ran had the form of a leopard, then she turned into an eagle about two hours later and stayed that way for about seven more hours?"_

_Kanda took some seconds, remembering the situation before nodding._

"_Why do you need to know that?"_

"_It is mandatory that the Generals who are also guardians give us a detailed description of their protégés and their daemons during their three first days with them." Komui said._

"_Holy crap, they are almost as obsessed as the Bookman." Lavi said. _

_Komui went on asking Kanda until that part was finished. Then, it was Allen's turn. _

"_Allen, Generall Cross said that he met you when you were ten, is that correct?"_

"_That's right."_

"_And that Meri…" Komui stopped, frowning at the paper he was holding. Then he continued, looking to Meri and Allen with something akin to astonishment in his voice. "And that Meri had already settled as a serval when he met you." He finished. _

_Lenalee, who had been caressing Ryel's ears, looked up, eyes wide. Kanda blinked twice, then exchanged a quick look with Ran, as if confirming that he had heard right. Lavi fell from his chair, taking Leon, who had been on his lap, with him. Allen looked embarrassed. Meri looked like she wanted to dig a hole in the ground and just disappear. _

"_Yeah. Meri settled when I was ten, a few days before I met Cross." Allen said. Komui nodded, shifting papers. _

"_When you were ten?!"Lavi all but screamed. How the hell someone already had their soul shaped when they were still ten?!_

_But they didn't continue the conversation, as Komui started asking Lavi the questions. _

That had been one hell of a surprise. Lavi had asked the panda later if there were many cases like that. According to Bookman, there weren't.

He did a research on servals as well, since he didn't have any material on them. It was the first time he had seen a serval daemon, and the first time that he had seen a daemon as beautiful as Merissa. The other members of the Order seemed to share his opinion that Meri was a real beauty. He guesses this is because the daemons are manifestations of their human's souls, and Allen's soul is particularly beautiful.

First, he began with the animal itself, and not its symbolic meaning. Servals have the biggest ears, comparing to the rest of their bodies, and the longest legs in the world of cats. They also have an excellent sense of smell, hearing, and sight, which they use for hunting and escaping, as well as being very good at hiding.

Lavi is so jealous! Whenever they are on a mission Meri always is the first one to sense that someone is near, he wishes Leon could do that as well! It's so useful!

Looking into the more symbolic meaning, having a serval daemon may mean that the person is good at distinguishing truths, as well as being persistent and resourceful, with a tendency of doing great leaps in life.

Lavi doesn't know much about Allen's past, but what he sees daily seems to match this description. Especially the part he found about having a great sense of mischief; that guy comes up with some really elaborated pranks when he's up to it.

Interesting enough, servals are lonely animals by nature, but when introduced to a family they tend to form a tight bond with them, and an even tighter bond with a specific person of that family. Lavi will have to look out for that one.

And, of course, there's Leon, his own daemon.

Chameleons, as animals, are always adapting according to their environment, blending in to the circumstances. This kind of extends to the symbolic meaning as well, seeing as people with chameleon daemons tend to be very observant, and to be very trustful of what they feel or sense, being able to find the correct way to act in a specific situation.

As Lavi has said before, what he likes the most about Leon is his camouflage ability, though Bookman doesn't share his enthusiasm about it; "Changing colors is used to express the feelings, to attract mates, and in response to temperature and light. This basically makes you wear your heart on your sleeve, and a Bookman doesn't need a heart!" He said.

Well, Leon isn't a regular chameleon; he is a daemon, so he doesn't have to necessarily follow these rules. The colors he uses don't express his feelings…Okay, maybe a little, sometimes, but that rarely happens! And there's nothing wrong in using his colors to catch the eye of some pretty girls!

"Lavi…"

"What is it, Leon?"

"He found us!" Lavi turns around, coming face to face with a very pissed off panda and an equally pissed off bat.

"Run!"

* * *

A/N: So, if anyone wants to know the sources I used to search for animal symbolism, feel free to PM me or ask for it in a review.

Also, I would like to explain something that Lavi said and that has been mentioned in the previous chapters: Merissa isn't beautiful just because I really like servals; I already thought like that even before I decided on which form she'd settle.

You see, I'm constantly thinking that Allen has an extremely beautiful soul, probably one of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen characters have, even with his flaws and traumas.

So, I reasoned that this was something that would reflect on Meri, since she kind of is a physical manifestation of his soul; people in the story comment about Meri's beauty because they are seeing Allen's soul as it is.

Her beauty is different from Ran's. Ran's beauty comes mostly from her elegance and posture, while Meri seems to radiate beauty, just like Allen makes people feel better.

Next one will be: A journey to Allen's subconsciousness!


	5. Merina

A/N: So, this chapter takes place in Allen's subconsciousness, and there are some explanations at the end as well.

I'd like to say that I was so very happy when I turned on the computer this afternoon and saw so many reviews, I swear my heart swelled with joy! Thank you! Thank you very much!

And I would like to warn you that there will be some spoilers in this chapter for those who haven't watched the more advanced episodes, and that some parts of this chapter aren't exactly following the canon.

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man, otherwise it would be a lot different.

Enjoy! ^^

* * *

**Everybody's Got Their Daemons**

_by: GakuenAlicefan27_

**Chapter 5: Merina**

Merina is a bobcat. Bobcats are members of the cat family, bigger than cats, but smaller than leopards. They are typical of North America, and are not considered closely related to the servals.

Still, they've got enough similarities with the servals for it to bother Allen.

Because Merina is Neah's daemon, and Allen doesn't want to be like Neah.

It is bad enough that both Merina and Merissa are from the cat family, which means that their humans must have at least some characteristics alike, but their similarities don't end just there. After all, if it was only that, Allen wouldn't be so bothered; people who have wolf daemons are quite different from people who have dog daemons, even though both are canines, and people with dove daemons are almost the opposite of people with raven daemons, even though both are birds.

Allen is, once again, tied to a throne-like seat that exists deep in his subconsciousness, and Merissa is tied next to him. Neah is standing in front of them with Merina by his side, talking about something that Allen isn't paying attention to (must be something related to the Earl and Allen's inability to win against him, like always).

This irritates Allen to no end: Neah just talks. He could do anything; he could probably kill them, or at least hurt them, but he never does that. He never raises a finger against them, and it's as if Neah thinks of them as allies, but they are not.

The space around them is completely white. There's nothing interesting to see, but, sometimes, Merina leaves Neah's side and wanders around until the she becomes just a black dot in the white and then disappears completely. She doesn't do that to get something, she doesn't do that to see if there's anybody besides them nearby (there isn't, it's pretty obvious), she doesn't do it because she heard something; she does it for the sake of doing it.

She likes to roam from time to time; Allen's noticed that in the last couple of times he spent tied to that throne. Neah doesn't even flinch when she does that, no matter how far she goes – a hundred meters, two hundred meters, or beyond. He knows she will be back, and he's right, she always comes back.

Allen can see Meri from the corner of his eyes and he knows that she's thinking the same thing he is: It is all so familiar; it's like looking into a mirror. They know they are looking at Neah and Merina, but they could be looking at themselves, because that seems exactly like the type of thing they would do - it was exactly what they used to do before Cross advised them against it.

Neah catches Allen's eyes following Merina's retreating figure once, but he just says:

"Mer values her freedom. I'm sure you can understand." And he can. He shifts uncomfortably upon hearing Neah's nickname for Merina: Mer is much too close to Meri, but even their full names are pretty alike, so it's no surprise.

He also isn't surprised to realize that Neah knows that Allen doesn't have limitations concerning Merissa's distance towards him; this guy seems to know almost everything there is to know about him, even the things he never told anyone.

And, even though he didn't like it, he felt that he also understood Neah better than most people did.

Merina settled when Neah was still pretty young, though a little older than Allen was when Meri settled. She differed greatly from Mana's daemon, Lika, who settled as dog when Mana was fourteen.

Merina was curious, and liked adventures while Lika preferred to be quiet and keep to herself, but the brothers still supported each other to the ends of the Earth.

Allen didn't like to think about these things because they gave opening to other thoughts, such as: Was that the reason Mana adopted him? Was it because he saw Merina in Merissa? Did Allen himself even mattered?

He also didn't like to remember Mana and Lika after he'd brought them back from the dead as akumas - Daemons came back as well, but in a distorted version of what they used to be, with a skeletal figure and dull eyes that reflected the lack of proper life in them.

He didn't like thinking about Merissa. It scared him. All of this scared him because a daemon settled, among other things, based on how its human dealt with the situations they came across in life, and everything that was happening was starting to make Allen feel that the only thing separating Merina and Merissa was a decision or two, a situation or two.

He trembled when he thought that, perhaps, the only thing truly separating those two, and consequentially, Neah and Allen, was a few decades and a trip down memory lane.

What Allen dislikes the most about Merina is that, for all he knows, she may have been Merissa.

* * *

A/N: Alright, I couldn't leave Neah out of this story because he's quite essencial for the development of some chapters later on, and because...I kind of have a crush on him. ^^

Now, some people might argue that Allen is only a host to Neah and that they are not one and the same, which is the direction my story is going. However, I have this headcanon that they are, so I'm not really following the canon in this part.

Also, in the canon, by the time Allen starts having this conversations with Neah, the Order and the Noah are already starting to suspect that he may have some kind of relation to the Fourteenth, but, in my story, this hasn't happened yet. This happens because it is better for me if Allen starts talking to Neah a little sooner than he should, for the sake of the next chapter.

Next chapter will be: A surprise!


	6. The Cat is Out of The Bag

A/N: So, this is the surprise chapter. This is the last written chapter that I have, so the next ones will probably take a little longer for me to publish them, seeing as I still have to write them and I'm writing another daemon! AU fanfic that takes place in another universe, and that one is being hell to write.

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man, otherwise it would be a lot different.

Enjoy! ^^

* * *

**Everybody's Got Their Daemons**

_by: GakuenAlicefan27_

**Chapter 6: The Cat is Out of The Bag**

Allen was pretty sure that when Cross told him not to let other people know that he could be apart from Meri this was exactly the type of situation he was trying to avoid.

Well, better luck next time.

It had begun as a normal mission; a group of finders had found a particularly powerful Innocence in the countryside of Germany, and Allen, Lenalee, Kanda and Lavi were assigned to retrieve it. Normally, the group would be smaller, but all of them had been chosen to go because the finders already were having trouble with some level two and level three Akuma that had sensed the Innocence as well.

They went there as fast as they could, but things had already gotten pretty bloody by the time they arrived. Luckily, the battlefield really was away from any city or population; the area consisted of valleys and open fields. There was a train line far away in the distance, but that was all.

A group of seven finders had been originally sent to the place, but three were already dead while the remaining four and their daemons were struggling to sustain a barrier that was protecting the Innocence: A small yellow flower that stood out from the others because of its bright colors and some weird golden lines engraved on its petals.

They split up as soon as they saw the Akuma. Lenalee and Ryel began fighting against two level two while Lavi and Leon attacked more Akuma that had just arrived. Allen, Meri, Kanda, and Ran had been left with two level three that were about to strike a fatal blow in the four finders. They were so engrossed in the battle that no one of them noticed three figures watching from a hill close by.

The fight went on for more forty or fifty minutes, until Lavi and Lenalee managed to finish off their opponents and went to help Allen and Kanda with theirs. Everything seemed to be going well until Allen realized that the finders had just disappeared. He stopped an attack midway and immediately started looking around to see if he could find them.

He saw them in the far off end of the field, seemingly stuck in a prison he couldn't see. He turned when he heard laughter coming from his right, only to see Road, Tyki, Wisely, and their daemons, standing on a hill.

His friends followed his gaze and the Akuma they were fighting took advantage of it and used their huge arms to basically throw them across the field to where the finders were. Allen was able to grab Meri using his Innocence and hold onto some vegetation on the ground, but they still ended up halfway across the field.

Coughing from the impact, Allen looked at Meri, who had fallen on his leg, to see if she was alright; she was. Then, he turned to look at his teammates who, thankfully, had landed near their own daemons, not too far apart.

"I wonder which one Allen will choose!" Road said. Tyki was sitting with a hand supporting his chin and with a smirk on his face while Wisely looked bored. Allen didn't understand what she meant until he heard Ran howling with anger and turned to look at his friends again.

Kanda and Lavi were attacking the same invisible wall that had been keeping the finders stuck earlier, but their attacks were completely useless. Looking with a little more attention and in the right light, Allen could see that they were being kept in a structure that resembled a cube. Some seconds later, Allen widened his eyes when he realized that the structure was getting smaller; the exorcists and the finders were going to be crushed soon. Near them, but outside the cube, there was a type of lever.

In the other end of the field, the Akuma were nearing the Innocence.

Allen realized that **this** had been what Road meant. He had two choices: Go after the Innocence on the northern end of the field before the Akuma got a hold of it, or go to the southern end of the field and pull down the lever before his friends got crushed to death. He couldn't choose one and then the other because it would be too late. He didn't have time.

Except he did.

Everyone's eyes were on him, but Allen had already made up his mind; he could deal with the consequences later. He looked at Meri, standing right beside him, and nodded. She nodded back.

And then, they ran to opposite directions.

Allen ran in the Akuma's direction, hearing several gasps and a shriek or terror, from Lenalee, but he didn't stop. The Akuma was caught by surprise and Allen managed to destroy it using Clown Belt in a quick attack. Meri, who was faster than him, got to the lever very fast, pulling it down with her mouth and destroying the cube that was holding the others captive.

The fight was over. Allen and Meri were standing more than two hundred meters away from each other, but, of course, there was no problem with that. The other field's occupants, however, were not so okay.

Allen calmly walked towards the Innocence and yanked it from the ground with a firm pull. Then, taking a deep breath, he turned around and looked at the other side of the field.

The surviving finders looked downright terrified. Some of them were even blinking repetitively, not believing what their eyes were showing them. Their daemons were expressing different degrees of shock. It shouldn't be considered as a completely bad reaction if one didn't count the fact that the finders were used to seeing incredibly abnormal things while searching for Innocence but this had managed to be abnormal enough to shock them.

Allen almost flinched. He didn't like those glances; they remembered him far too much of how people used to look at him when he was little. It had been a while since he'd felt like a total freak, but the feeling was slowly coming back to him.

His friends hadn't moved from where they were even though the barrier had been destroyed. Allen risked a glance at them:

Lenalee was kneeling on the ground with Ryel within her arms while both looked about to pass out. Allen thought he should have known that they would react pretty badly; Lenalee and Ryel were the pair of human and daemon in the Order who depended on each other the most; they probably couldn't even begin to understand how they had just seen a human and a daemon part as if they weren't connected at all.

Lavi had a hand on his hair and the other holding his hammer down. It was the first time Allen had seen the redhead's eyes look truly confused; the boy seemed to be mentally going over everything he had ever read about daemons before, trying to find something about what he'd just seen, be it an example, a note, anything. He didn't look like he was having much success with that. Leon was on Lavi's shoulder; he kept changing colors every second.

Allen actually felt disappointed; he had hoped that Lavi, as a Bookman apprentice would know something that explained Allen and Meri's ability, though he never got to build up the courage to actually ask it or even mention the topic. It seemed the situation was even worse than he imagined.

Kanda looked, for lack of better word, surprised. His usually unreadable face didn't have its typical stoic expression. His eyes were a little wide and his mouth was open as if he was trying to say something but the words wouldn't come out. Ran seemed to be better than the other daemons, though she didn't say anything. Her posture was still as elegant as ever, but Allen could see that she was taken aback.

Meri was still near them, observing their reactions like Allen was. She looked kind of sad, and he probably did as well, though he guessed that things could have been worse.

Then he remembered.

_Wait…the Noah! _

Allen swallowed dry before turning to look at the three figures on the top of the hill.

Tyki was looking incredibly pale, even though his skin was still grey. His arms were hanging limply at his sides. Kindall, his butterfly daemon, was perched on the top of his head. Allen couldn't say how she had been affected by this; it was very difficult to read insect daemons.

Wisely had concentrated eyes; probably doing the same thing as Lavi. His mouth had formed a thin line. His daemon was a snowy owl, but Allen didn't know her name. The owl was perched on Wisely's shoulder, looking every bit as concentrated as her Noah.

And there was Road, who looked…Lost.

Her eyes were wide, but Allen couldn't exactly tell which emotion they were displaying: shock, anxiety, surprise, fear, hope, it was impossible for him to tell. Her raccoon daemon, Runi, was in her arms, looking from Meri to Allen and vice versa.

The silence that had fallen upon everyone was suddenly broken when Road whispered something that made Allen's blood go cold.

"Neah…Merina…"

* * *

A/N: So, I can't give you a hint about next chapter because I don't know what I'll write in it yet. XP


	7. A Child's Comfort

A/N: I finally finished this chapter! It took me days to write, I'm so happy!

Thank you for the wait!

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man, otherwise it would be a lot different. And I don't own the "His Dark Materials" trilogy as well. However, I do own Merissa, Ran, Ryel, Leon, Merina, Lika, Runi, Kindall, and Wisely's snowy owl daemon whose name Allen doesn't know! XD

Enjoy! ^^

* * *

**Everybody's Got Their Daemons**

_by: GakuenAlicefan27_

**Chapter 7: A Child's Comfort**

"Any luck?" Lavi asked. Lenalee shook her head, shutting close the thick book that was in her hands.

"Nothing in this one as well." The redhead cursed lowly, looking back to the equally thick book he was reading.

It had been three days since they arrived back at The Order, and Allen hadn't come out of his room since. The news of what had happened at the mission had spread like wildfire; by now, it was what everyone was talking about.

The reactions had been varied: surprise, shock, amazement, disbelief, admiration, fear; if Lavi were Allen, he wouldn't get out of his room either.

The superiors had yet to pronounce their opinion on the matter, and their silence was driving Lavi crazy. He had expected them to set up a reunion with Allen as soon as they got word of his ability; probably punish him or put him under surveillance for hiding something so important from them. He didn't know if their inertia was a good thing or a bad thing.

In the meantime, Lavi, Lenalee, and their daemons had dedicated themselves to searching through every book available in the library to see if they could find an explanation for what they had seen at the battlefield, or, at least, a record of the existence of something similar to what Allen could do, based on what the white-haired boy had told them on the train ride back to The Order.

Until the moment, all they had found was a huge nothing with a good dose of no-clue-at-all.

Lavi had, of course, asked the Bookman about it, but all the old panda had said was that if Lavi really wanted to become a bookman, he shouldn't rely on other people for information, but search for it himself.

The strangeness of this answer was ticking him off; that response sounded as if the panda knew something about Allen's uncommon trait but wasn't telling him, and it had Lavi seriously considering stealing some of the Bookman's notes just so he could see if there was anything there.

That thought was becoming more and more tempting with each discarded book added to the already huge pile; they were running out of research material.

"Lavi, it's time for lunch" He looked down to the table; where Leon was using a pile of articles as a resting place – The librarian would skin them alive if the chameleon was caught doing that, but Lavi was never one to care about these kinds of things.

"Okay." He marked the page he was reading; then he went to the lunch hall with Leon, followed by Lenalee and Ry.

"I'm gonna try and see if he'll open the door this time." Lenalee said, and Lavi nodded.

Allen's absence was noticeable in itself, but Allen's absence in the lunch hall was painfully noticeable to the point that people would hold their breaths and look at the doors every time they heard the sound of them opening; needless to say, it was never Allen.

Lenalee and Lavi were getting Allen's food these last three days and leaving it at his door. He hadn't asked them to do it, but they had assumed this function since it became clear that their friend was not even going to show up at the lunch hall.

They had tried to get him to open the door; he answered them, but through the door. He didn't seem to be depressed, like Lenalee had originally thought, though he wasn't completely fine as well.

His voice wasn't faltering; they tried to put their ears on the door to see if they could hear him crying, but he wasn't. It was all so quiet on the other side; perhaps he was just thinking.

Other people had tried as well: Miranda, Krory, some finders who really liked Allen, but no one succeeded. Lavi and Leon kept nagging Kanda and Ran to try, but they always ended up with something sharp pointed at them. Even so, they would try again during this lunch!

…An hour later, Lavi went back to the library, having failed miserably:

"_Come on, Yu! At least try it!" Lavi whined, throwing his body sideways so he would avoid getting stabbed with a fork. Leon jumped on Ran's back, but was quickly shoved off._

"_Forget it; this is none of my business! And if you call me by my first name one more time, I swear it'll be the last thing you'll do." Kanda said._

"_How can you say that it's none of your business?! One of your friends has been locked up in his room for three days already!" _

"_The things Moyashi does have nothing to do with me. You and Lenalee should stop obsessing over this matter; you'll just turn the library upside down for nothing." _

"_What?! Don't tell me you don't want to know how what they do is possible! We can't just ignore it, it's not normal!"_

"_Says the boy with the male daemon."_

_Lavi shut up after that. He went back to eating his food, not seeing the quick look exchanged between Kanda and Ran. _

Meanwhile, in Allen and Meri's bedroom, the two occupants were contemplating the events that had happened that week, including the first conversation they'd had with their teammates after the revelation:

_The atmosphere during the train ride back to the Order was heavy. _

_Allen spent the majority of the trip looking through the window, as if appreciating the scenery; Meri was lying near his feet. He could see his teammates' reflections in the glass:_

_Lenalee had her head low, but sometimes she would send quick glances in their direction; Ryel was sitting beside her, looking at anyone but them. _

_Lavi was looking directly at them, but, so far, he hadn't said a thing; perhaps he was torn between saying something or just keeping quiet. Leon was following his example, but Allen knew that it was only a matter of time before their curiosity got the better of them. _

_Kanda was trying to demonstrate apathy, but Allen thought that he seemed to be replaying the earlier events on his head. Ran looked like she was thinking as well, but she also seemed calm. So far, she was the one who was better handling the news, probably because she was aware that Allen and Meri owned them an explanation, and, sooner or later, they'd talk. _

_She was right, Allen thought. No matter how much he hated the prospect of it, he would have to talk about it. Besides, it was better to explain things now, before rumors and assumptions started spreading._

_He sighed; Meri looked at him as if saying: "We knew this was going to happen." Yeah, they did; they didn't regret doing what they had done, it was necessary. Still, Allen wished the secret hadn't come out the way it did; in the worst way possible. Damn Noah…_

_Thinking of the Noah made him remember Road's words, so he quickly changed his trail of thoughts. He'd think about this problem later; right now was not the time or place. _

_Allen could hear the murmurs of the finders and their daemons outside the door, and it wasn't helping any. It got to the point where he was glad when Kanda got up from the seat, opened the door and sent them a deadly glare, shutting them up instantly, even though he normally hated the way the Japanese boy treated them. _

_When he closed the door again, the silence came back. Allen thought it was a good time to start talking, so he discreetly looked at Lavi, who took this as his cue to ask:_

"_So…" he began, "What's the story?" Lenalee looked at Lavi when he said that, then to Allen. Kanda turned his attention to him as well._

_Allen coughed, uncomfortable. His friends seemed to be expecting an incredible tale of how he had become able to be apart from Meri when, in reality, it was just how it was._

"_There's no story. It's just us." He said._

"_We've always been like that." Meri complemented. She had raised her head and was looking at the other daemons. Lenalee widened her eyes and spoke for the first time since they boarded the train._

"_You mean…Since you were born?" They nodded, "But…That was the first time I saw you doing it."_

"_We used to do it all the time when I was a kid. But…People always reacted so badly…We were shunned, misjudged, feared…" Meri looked down when Allen said that; those were memories she always hated to remember. _

"_Allen already attracted enough attention as it was. He had the Innocence on his arm, the white hair, the cursed mark…It was better if we just acted as if we had the same distance limitation as the other people."_

_Both of them left out the fact that Cross advised them against it; the superiors would be suspicious of the General if this particular fact reached them. _

_Lavi swallowed dry, as if afraid of the answer, before asking: _

"_Just…How far can you two be apart?" Allen shook his head._

"_We don't know; I don't think we have a limitation."_

_After that, the uncomfortable silence came back._

They didn't want to worry anyone by locking themselves up, but they needed time alone to think of urgent problems that the others didn't even know they had.

Of course, all the gossip going around was making them feel bad, but hell if they would let themselves sink into some kind of depression because of that. They had dealt with much worse years ago; they could deal with people pointing fingers now.

Besides, Lenalee and Lavi seemed to have accepted Allen and Meri's ability, Kanda just didn't care, and their other friends hadn't been repulsed by it as well; the people they cared about were not rejecting them, so, as far as friendship went, no real damage was done.

Allen actually cried when he realized that. Until that day, Mana and Cross had been the only people who had truly accepted them; back to the time before the Order, the white-haired boy would often wish he had friends who accepted him as well, but he never thought it was truly possible. Now, Mana was gone, and Cross was never around, but he finally had friends like that.

He didn't want them to leave him, and he didn't want to leave them as well. However, anything could happen now.

He hoped Cross wouldn't get in trouble because of that, seeing as he should have had reported Allen's lack of limitation to the Order along with his personal data. He could pretend that he himself didn't know, since no one could prove otherwise, but that would make things even uglier for Allen, because it would mean that he hid such a secret even from his guardian.

The boy wondered what the other Generals would do about it. He hadn't been summoned by them until now, but he supposed that they would want to have a long talk with him eventually.

This could be considered worrisome, if he didn't have bigger things to worry about; like the Noah, for example.

Road knew. Her words proved that she had made the connection between him and Neah, but only God knew how she would use this information, and how the Earl would react to that.

He wondered what conclusion they had reached. They couldn't fully know about his relation to Neah, because not even Allen knew to what extent they were related. He had yet to figure out how he had Neah's consciousness, and what exactly this meant for him.

He should have started thinking about it a lot sooner, but the truth was that he didn't want to. Neah was a topic he'd rather avoid, and he'd been postponing trying to understand him for a long time now. It was childish, he knew; but it had seemed like a good idea after the first time they had met deep down in Allen's mind.

Meri's ears perked up and she looked at the door; somebody was coming. Allen sighed, ready to send Lenalee, Lavi, or whoever it was, away.

"Moyashi, open the door!"

Allen blinked, looking at Meri as if expecting a confirmation that he wasn't hearing things. Kanda? Allen never expected him to come…

"Kanda? Ran?" He said, loud enough for it to be heard in the hall. "What are you doing here?" He got up from his bed and got close to the door.

"What the hell do you think I'm doing? That stupid rabbit and his chameleon keep bugging me to try to get you out of there, and I've had enough of it!"

"Get the hell out, Merissa! Hiding isn't going to solve anything!" Ran said as well.

Allen tried to stop a smile but it was too late; even though Kanda had said that, the fact that he actually came made him really happy. Meri laughed lowly; she loved to get a reaction out of the usually apathetic Ran.

"We're fine, you two. We just need some time." The white-haired boy said, leaning with his back against the door.

"Are you kidding me?! You've been in there for three days already, you idiot! You don't get out even to get your own food!"

Allen flinched at that. On the first day back from the mission, Allen and Meri had planned on going to the lunch hall at the wee hours of night, while everybody else was sleeping, but it turned out that Lenalee had left their food at the door. He didn't want to impose on his friends, it just happened.

"Please, leave. We've got a lot to think about." Meri said, and some seconds later they heard Ran's howl on the other side. Kanda punched the door.

"Stop acting like other people aren't being affected by this as well, damnit! The rabbit and Lenalee spent the last days buried under books in the library trying to find anything that could relate to you!"

Allen suddenly stiffened. He had a response ready at the tip of his tongue - the same one he'd been giving everyone who tried to talk him out of the room - but no words would come out.

He slowly slid his body on the door until he was seated on the ground. Kanda hadn't said anything outrageous, but it brought back old memories – Memories of Mana; of something he'd almost forgotten.

Before he could control himself, he said:

"I used to do that." His voice was whispered; if it hadn't been for a "What?" that came from the hall, Allen would have thought that Kanda hadn't heard it.

"I used to do that." He repeated. "Used to search in books and look through stories; trying to find for something, anything, that made me feel less like a freak."

No response came from the other side of the door. Meri lied down next to Allen and put her head on his lap. Allen continued talking:

"When I was little, before I met Cross, I used to travel with a man who was like a father to me." He hugged his knees, careful not to hurt Meri. "Sometimes, he'd tell me stories. You know, those stories that parents tell their children before they go to bed.

A pause; his throat was feeling dry all of a sudden.

"But I wasn't like the other kids. I didn't like hearing stories about heroes, princesses, or knights. No, I liked to hear the stories that the adults told the kids when they wanted to scare them."

He laughed humorlessly; Meri's eyes turned sad.

"I liked the myths of the Witches of the North."

The hall was silent. Kanda probably had already left, but he went on anyway.

"Because, those were the only stories I knew in which the people were…Like me…The Witches, they could…They could be apart from their daemons as well." Meri nuzzled his belly.

"These were the stories that I asked for; the stories that made me happy. They made me feel like I wasn't all alone in my weirdness."

Something wet was running down his face.

"Of course, it made no sense at all. For one, the Witches were just myths; they weren't real people." He sniffed.

"Besides, even if they were, I would never fit in this category. Witches were female, they had magical powers, their daemons were birds – Meri hadn't settled yet, but she was never fond of turning into birds. And…and they weren't even born with the lack of distance limitation; they had to go through a ritual to develop this ability. I…I had managed to be even weirder than the Witches in this point."

Allen realized that he was crying. He'd been doing anything he could not to think about this for the last years, but it was all coming back to him now.

"I know it sounds twisted, but…even so, the stories comforted me. Does that…Does that make me a bad person? Being glad that, at some degree, I had something in common with such bad people? People who were known for doing evil things? I…I was just a child; I wanted to feel like I belonged somewhere.

He tried wiping the tears away, but they just kept falling.

"Sorry, I don't know why I'm saying all this. I never told anyone about it, but…What you said…It reminded me of those times. You…You probably aren't even here anymore and I'm just talking to myself but…I don't know. I don't really know why I said this." Meri looked at him.

"Allen…" He sniffed again.

"What is it, Meri?"

"They are still here, I can smell their scent." Allen was about to retort that this seemed highly unlikely when a voice came from outside the door.

"She's right, Moyashi."

Allen nearly jumped from the surprise. God, he was really there! How was he supposed to look Kanda in the eye after that?!

Kanda kept talking before Allen could think of something to say:

"Don't give me this crap about you being bad; this is the stupidest thing you have ever said, and you know it. And it doesn't matter that you thought like that years ago. You've got a place to belong now, you belong with us."

His words were kind of harsh, but his voice didn't sound angry. A lump formed in Allen's throat, but it wasn't from sadness. The weirdest thought crossed his mind as he wondered if by "us" Kanda had meant him and Ran or just the Order. It was ridiculous to even consider it, so he dismissed the thought as fast as it came to him. Why the hell had he thought that?

"And this isolation has lasted too fucking long already. I swear that if you don't show up for breakfast tomorrow morning, I will break down your door and drag you to the lunch hall myself."

With that said, Allen heard the sound of Kanda's footsteps and Ran's paws getting farther and farther away. Some seconds later, everything was silent again.

Meri got up; her eyes couldn't quite hide her amusement. Allen sighed, wiping away the last remains of the tears he had shed and fighting a smile that was making its way to his mouth. He wondered if Meri was feeling as silly as he was.

"Well, looks like we've got to set some things straight before morning comes." She said, laughing at the end of the sentence. Allen agreed; he didn't want his door torn to pieces and he could live without the embarrassment of entering the lunch hall being dragged by his leg or something like that.

However, he refused to show up tomorrow if he hadn't solved at least one of the things that were troubling him.

He remembered the last part of what happened on the train ride back to headquarters, right the silence was back:

_Allen realized that the conversation was over for now, so he went back to looking at the window and pretending to be interested in the scenery. _

_This time, however, there was something different: It wasn't his reflection staring back at him through the glass._

_It was Neah's._

_Allen held back a scream, quickly looking to his friends to see if they had noticed that something was off. Lavi and Kanda weren't looking his way; Lenalee was looking at the window as well, but she didn't seem to have noticed anything wrong. _

_He risked another glance at the glass; Neah's reflection still was where Allen's one should have been. There was something awkward about his expression, though; he seemed…sad. Allen had never seen him that way. _

_He kept looking at him for some more time; less than a minute, until he saw Neah open his mouth and mutter: _

"_I'm sorry."_

_Allen blinked and stared, not sure of what he should do. Then, the train arrived at the station, and he didn't get a chance to reply._

_After everyone arrived at the headquarters, and Allen and Meri went to their room, Allen avoided looking at the little wall mirror he had in the corner. He was afraid; he didn't understand what was going on, but he also was anxious about finding out. _

_These thoughts kept going around in his head until hours later, when he fell asleep. _

Allen got up from the ground, determined; and looked to the direction of the mirror.

"Let's get some answers, Meri."

* * *

A/N: Next chapter will be: Allen's talk to Neah, and a few other things.

I don't know when I'll publish it, but I'll try to be fast.


	8. Anything and Everything

A/N: I'm back! I worked really hard on this chapter so I would be able to finish it and publish it before the end of my vacation (which is tomorrow)!

I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has been following, commenting, and favoriting this story so far; you make me really happy!

Also, someone asked me why I write "Neah" with an "h" at the end, seeing as most people don't do it. Well, it's a personal choice - That gives me a lot of trouble because my computer keeps switching "Neah" for "Noah" whenever I write it, and then I have to switch it back. Oh, the irony.

I'd also like to remind people that my story will stray from canon at some points, especially regarding Neah and Allen; but, hey, that's what fanfiction is for!

Besides, this story has Yullen hints, though I'm not sure how far I'll develop them. I'm pretty sure that there will be nothing graphic, though.

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man, otherwise it would be a lot different. And I don't own the "His Dark Materials" trilogy as well. However, I do own Merissa, Ran, Ryel, Leon, Merina, Lika, Runi, Kindall, and Wisely's snowy owl daemon whose name Allen doesn't know! XD

Enjoy! ^^

* * *

**Everybody's Got Their Daemons**

_by: GakuenAlicefan27_

**Chapter 8: Anything and Everything**

Once more, the reflection staring back at him was Neah's. Allen had a feeling that this was how it was going to be from now on; he wondered if Meri would see Merina's reflection as well if the mirror were low enough for her to look through it – And he also wondered if this was something that he could talk to Neah about; Allen had never been vain, but the idea of never seeing their reflection again would make anyone uncomfortable.

"We need to talk." He said. Neah didn't respond, but he noticed how the edges of the mirror started glowing until the whole mirror was shining and Allen had to cover his eyes because of the brightness.

When it seemed that the light had subdued, Allen lowered his arms and realized that he and Meri were in the very familiar white space of his mind, with the very pleasant surprise that neither of them were tied down this time; probably because it was the first time they actually wanted to be there.

"Allen, they are right there." Meri said, pointing with her head to their right.

He turned to the direction she had showed, seeing a huge white marble table about twenty meters away from where he was. Despite its size, there were only two seats at the table; each one in a far end. Neah was sitting in the nearest one of them with Merina lying at his feet, so Allen and Meri went for the seat in the other end.

Neah wasn't looking at them. He had an elbow being supported by the table and his hand supporting his chin; his face was looking down. Merina followed them with her head until Allen sat in the chair and Meri sat on the ground next to him.

The Noah looked so normal like this; quiet and without a smirk on his face. He seemed to be thinking, and Allen wondered if that was what he did whenever he and Merina were alone in this place, without Allen or Meri to talk to. Did he just sit somewhere and think? Did he watch what was happening in Allen's life? Did he…sleep?

"Allen." The boy willed away these thoughts. Neah was looking at him now; he had a small smile on his face, as if amused at how Allen had managed to drift off in the few seconds that things were silent.

"W-what?" He stuttered, embarrassed.

"You said you wanted to talk, but there are lots of things that we have to talk about, so it would be better if you asked the questions for the conversation to flow." He said.

Allen did have a lot of questions; they'd probably spend a lot of time talking.

"Are you fully aware of what happened a few days ago?" he asked. First of all, he had to make sure that Neah knew the situation they were dealing with. He appeared in the glass window for a few seconds during the train ride, but that didn't necessarily mean that he was watching the whole time.

"I'm always watching Allen. That moment, in particular, was quite the show." There was a slight trace of mirth on his voice.

"I had no choice."

"I know. I wasn't judging you. Your friends seem to have taken it well, though. You must be relieved."

"Yeah, but the Order isn't the only one who knows now…" Allen said; Neah sighed.

"Unfortunately, that piece of information got to the other Noah too soon for my liking, but there's nothing we can do to change it."

"Road already made the connection between us…"

"It doesn't surprise me that she was the first one of them to do so, but not even she can be a hundred percent sure just by what she saw…"

"What do you mean?" Neah looked at him as if unsure of how he would organize the explanations that were to come. Then, after a minute of silence, he seemed to make up his mind. Merina kept silent the whole time; she really wasn't one to talk much.

"Before we get to this topic, let's talk about more basic things." He began, "Do you know what our connection is, Allen?"

Allen gulped. He had a good idea on that matter, but denial was doing a great job in getting in the way. Still, there was no point in trying to deny anything now; it wouldn't solve a thing. Facing the truth and dealing with it was the only option he had. That being decided, he said:

"I used to be you." His voice was firm; it wasn't even a question. Neah nodded, amused.

"Yeah, I guess that's a way to define "reincarnation"." Allen looked at him, suddenly aware of the importance of the conversation they were having.

"That's it, then. I'm your reincarnation. I'm…I'm the current Fourteenth." Deep down he always knew that, but that was the first time he had accepted that fact; the first time he had said it out loud. It felt concrete now, even though it had always been like that. Meri licked his hand affectionately; like Merina, she had chosen to keep quiet.

"It's how the cycle is." Neah said; he seemed glad to have gotten that out of the way.

"But…I'm not like them. I don't have the stigmata, and I don't think I have the powers you had back them either."

"That's because the process is still taking place. It's nowhere near completion yet, but it's definitely begun; otherwise you wouldn't be able to talk to me like that, or to see my reflection in the mirror." He explained. Allen cocked his head.

"When did it begin?"

"Some years ago."

"And the process usually takes that long?" If it had begun years ago, and even now it was nowhere close to completion…

"The duration depends on the Noah and on the current incarnation. Your process is taking longer than it should because your Innocence is retarding it, but it has sped up since last year."

"And why is that?"

"It gets stronger the longer it has been going on; it's normal."

Allen nodded at that; pausing the questions for a while so that his brain could process everything that had been told him. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Meri, and another question popped on his mind.

"Merissa and Merina…they…"

"They are essentially the same daemon, seeing as we have the same soul."

"But…they have different settled forms…"

"The settling happens because of the person's experiences and choices. Of course, there are some inherent characteristics; both of them are felines, as you can see. And all the other Fourteenths before us had feline daemons as well, though even that is something that can change. I can't really give you a class about daemonology; it's a very complex subject.

"And their names…" Neah shook his shoulders.

"What's in a name? It does not define you, you know. We don't keep our names as we die and reincarnate, so why should they? Besides, their names are very similar."

That seemed to make sense, so Allen didn't argue with it. Neah's mouth formed a thin line before moving on to the next matter.

"Do you know why we are like that, Allen?" He asked; Merina's ears perked up at that.

"You mean…The reason as to why we have this ability?" Neah nodded; Allen shook his head. "I thought that it was a unique ability that the Fourteenth usually had or something along these lines. I mean, the other Noah can't do it…" He said. Neah took a while to answer that, seemingly choosing the best words.

"The other Noah can't do it, but the Fourteenths that preceded you and I couldn't do it as well." He said; Allen widened his eyes.

"What?! Then, how?"

"You still don't remember, do you?" Merina suddenly asked, startling Allen; it was the first time she had directly talked to him.

"Remember…"

"She's asking if your memories of the past incarnations have already started coming back." Neah clarified.

"Oh." Allen searched his mind for any memory that didn't specifically belong to him, but nothing came to mind. "No, I don't remember anything. Was I supposed to?" Neah shook his head.

"I guess it's too early for that. Your powers haven't even awakened yet."

"But why did she ask that?"

"Because, if you had my memories, you would know why we are so different from everybody else, even our previous incarnations." Neah looked up at him and Meri to make sure that they were paying attention. "Merina and I… Had the distance limitation, until a certain age when…I did something stupid."

Allen's mouth popped open. What could have happened that would result in such a thing?

"What…How?" Neah's expression turned somber.

"Allen, do you understand what it means to be the Fourteenth?" Allen thought that he had a decent understanding of what it meant, so he was ready to nod, when Neah said: "Do you **really** understand what it means?"

This stopped him midway. It seemed better to just let Neah talk, so he kept quiet.

"Each disciple carries a memory of Noah. You know, Road is the Dreams of Noah, Tyki is the Pleasure of Noah, Wisely is the Wisdom of Noah…"

Allen had a really bad feeling as to where this conversation was going. Meri's head found its way to his lap

"And we…We are the Destruction of Noah. The Fourteenth Noah who destroys everything."

Allen felt a drop of sweat roll down his forehead; he barely heard himself asking: "Neah…What did you do?" The tension in the air was tangible; Neah started talking:

"When I was twelve, my transformation into a Noah begun. At first, I was scared. I didn't understand why I was having dreams that seemed more like memories, or why I was slowly being able to do things I couldn't do before. Mana was the only one I told; I was so afraid of what other people would think, even our own mother."

Allen nodded as a sign for him to continue the story.

"Then, as the memories started becoming clearer, I began to understand what was happening, and I stopped being afraid of using my powers and seeing how far they could go."

Merina put her head in Neah's lap, mirroring Merissa's actual position.

"Mana advised me against it. He warned me that I should be careful; warned me that I was playing with fire, but I didn't pay it much mind. Mana always worried more than it was healthy, and I really thought that I had full control of what I was doing."

Neah sighed; he had such tired eyes.

"Turns out I was wrong. I still had a long way to go until I would be able to control my powers completely; I hadn't even recovered all my past memories yet, I…I had already remembered that my powers could be used for the destruction of everything…" He sighed.

"But I hadn't remembered enough to understand to what extent "everything" went. Never forget just how strong that word is, Allen; it involves even the things we cannot see."

Allen felt the color draining from his face; certainly, Neah didn't mean…

"One day, when I was thirteen, Merina and I sneaked out to test my powers while Mana was busy helping our mother in the kitchen. I had been doing that a lot in the past year; that was just another one of those escapades."

Merina closed her eyes; she clearly disliked that memory.

"I was so amazed by seeing things turning to dust just because I willed them to; it was incredible to know that I could break things that not even the strongest of weapons could. I lost track of the time...And I overdid it, so I ended up losing control."

Neah hugged Merina.

"The power started coming out in waves; it was hitting everything around. Luckily, I had chosen a secluded place, so no one else got hurt. I tried to keep calm and to stop it, but I couldn't, then…One of the waves hit me and Merina, and we were knocked out.

Allen was glad he was sitting; otherwise he would have fallen down.

"Mana and Lika found us some hours after; they got worried sick because they didn't even know what to do to help. Mom had no idea what to do either; she called the doctor but he didn't find any injuries. It took us nearly a day to wake up; we didn't feel any different, so we truthfully answered that we were fine when Mana questioned us. We thought nothing serious had happened…"

"But it had…" Allen whispered. Neah continued:

"Some days later, we were playing tag with Mana and Lika, and we only stopped running when he heard Mana scream. We turned, thinking he had tripped over something and gotten hurt, but he was just standing there, looking at us with Lika curled around his feet. They seemed terrified…And we realized that it was because Merina and I had gotten so caught up in the game that we didn't even notice we had gotten thirty meters apart."

Mana had always been so comprehensive towards Allen and Merissa that it was difficult for the white-haired boy to picture him being terrified at what he was seeing. Neah seemed to get what he was thinking, so he quickly added:

"Mana got used to it after sometime, but you have to understand that that was his first time seeing anything like that Allen, and he was only a child."

Allen nodded.

"But, technically, what happened? I'm supposing that the attack reached damaged your bond with Merina…" Neah nodded.

"We were lucky. At that time, my powers weren't strong enough to completely destroy the bond; they only stretched it a lot, to the point where the distance limitation became invalid. If it had happened some years later, when they were fully matured, getting hit like that would have severed Merina and me; and we would have become lifeless beings."

Allen was taking deep breaths, trying to calm his hammering heart. He had always imagined a thousand different reasons as to why he and Meri were so peculiar, but no one of them had been so surreal, or terrifying.

"And the bond remained stretched like that even after…Death?" He said; Neah nodded, solemnly.

"Hence why you and Merissa were already born like that, and so will the next generations of Fourteenths; the bond will never be the same as it was before. That is why…"

Allen looked up when Neah suddenly stopped talking; the man on the other side of the table looked ashamed.

"What?"

"That is why I said "Sorry" through the window of the train. The lack of limitation never bothered me; on the contrary, I grew to really like it over the time. But, that was because I rarely ever had to deal with what other people thought of it. Mana was okay with that, mom got used to it, and shortly after the Earl felt my presence and came after me so I could join the other Noah, who were surprised, but thought that what I could do was amazing. But you…"

Merina seemed so sad.

"You had to grow dealing with the aftermath of a mistake I made without even knowing why you were that way. Your childhood was hell just because I was a stupid kid; I'm deeply sorry for that, Allen."

Allen didn't know what to say. He just couldn't blame Neah for all that; it was an accident, and he was not the type who held grudges. Merissa made it clear by jumping from his lap and going over to Merina, who was still sitting by Neah's feet, and nuzzling her.

Neah was a little startled because of that. Allen guesses that it had been a long time since anybody besides Neah, daemon or not, had gotten even close to Mer. He smiled, letting the man know that it was alright. Meri and Mer stayed close like that for a few moments, in which Neah added:

"And that's also why you need to be careful when your powers start awakening. Train by doing small things and only progress once you know for sure that you've mastered what you were doing before. Don't let it go to your head, or the consequences can be disastrous." Allen gulped.

"But you will be here to help me, right?"

"Of course." The white-haired boy let out a breath he didn't notice he was holding.

"Good." Besides all the shocking news he had received, Allen was glad that he finally knew why he and Meri were so peculiar; it felt like a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders. "But what did you mean about not even Road being able to be a hundred percent sure of our connection?"

Neah, who had been observing their daemons' interaction, looked up.

"I meant that she immediately correlated us because we are the only two people that she knows who have such ability, but, since I never told any of the Noah, not even the Earl, how I had become able to do it, they cannot know if it is merely a coincidence or not. For all they know, it could just be a very rare inherent ability that some people have."

Allen frowned.

"I think that's an unlikely reaction…"

"For the other Noah, it isn't. For Road and the Earl, though, I agree that it is highly unlikely. They are the ones who remember me the most, and the ones I spent the most time with. The Earl will, at least, strongly suspect it, and I bet that Road already is convinced that you're my reincarnation, even though she doesn't have any concrete proof."

"They've been quite until now…"

"Yes, but Road probably spent these last few days going over every memory of us that she has, trying to see if there's something she missed, tracing our similarities; things that could validate her beliefs. In the upcoming battles, you can expect them to try and get you to use any power that could be associated with a Noah, so be extra cautious."

Allen nodded, before remembering another question:

"Neah…You rebelled against the Noah thirty-six years ago, didn't you?

"I did."

"Then, do you have any idea as to how to stop them?"

Neah's expression darkened considerably; the answer was clear.

"I do have an idea; but…"

"But?"

"I am not convinced that it is the best course of action; it's something that I still have serious doubts about, and I'd rather use it only as a last resort."

"You mean something for me to do?"

"Yes, but I won't tell you now. It's not like you'd be able to go through with it in the moment, and you already have other problems to think about."

"I'd do anything to put an end to the Earl's plans…"

Neah got up from the chair and Allen did the same; the table and chair disappeared in thin air. He thought this meant that the conversation was over, but Neah was still looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"Don't say such a thing, Allen. "Anything", just like "everything", is too strong a word to be used so freely; people often regret doing it, especially the ones as kind-hearted as you."

The boy swallowed dry; this was the most serious he had ever seen Neah be. Then, in the blink of an eye, a smile was in the place of the once serious expression. Merissa went back to his side, as astonished as he was because of the mood change.

"And since you miss seeing your reflection, I'll make it so my reflection shows behind yours and not in its place. Bye, Allen!"

With a wave of Neah's hand, everything went black before Allen had time to ask how Neah knew about his discomfort with that matter. Later on, he'd realize how stupid that question would have sounded, seeing as Neah kind of was part of his subconscious.

* * *

A/N: So, like I already said, my vacation ends tomorrow, so my updates will probably take longer now. I still don't know all the elements of the next chapter, but I'm working on it.

Also, someone had already asked me why Lavi's daemon is male, and now another person asked me again, so I'll explain:

I'm well aware that it is hinted that people with daemons the same gender as them have homosexual tendencies. However, this is not the case with Lavi.

You see, when I was writing Lavi's chapter, his daemon was originally a female, but I realized that I had changed it into a male in the middle of the chapter, so I had to rewrite it.

Then, I ended up changing his daemon into a male again O.o After this situation repeated itself at least six times, I realized that I was doing it because whenever I thought of Lavi, I just couldn't imagine his daemon as a female.

I guess you could say that Leon chose his own gender in my head XD

Thank you for reading!


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